What Exactly Were Feelings?

After one night, Yi Chen woke feeling refreshed.

He got up and checked his phone.

The midterm exam had earned his class fewer than 100 Class Points, so everyone received fewer than 10,000 Personal Points each month.

Yi Chen now had just over 21,000 Personal Points left.

Still, things at the school were reasonably priced, and many daily necessities were even free.

Yi Chen checked his phone, and a message from Ichinose arrived right after.

He sent a quick reply, then went to school with Ken Sudō.

Yesterday afternoon's events were still vivid in Yi Chen's mind.

I was clearly influenced deeply by my upbringing. But what exactly is this feeling?

Am I a good person? A bad person? What kind of person am I? Why did I have to go through all this?

Yi Chen's gaze darkened.

What does it feel like to land a solid punch? Is it satisfying?

Heh. It was pretty cathartic.

Yi Chen's state of mind had changed.

When he arrived in class that morning, his classmates spotted him and burst into cheers.

Yi Chen looked at the smiling faces all around him.

He glanced at Kushida, who had her head bowed and said nothing, then looked at Airi.

When Airi noticed him looking at her, she immediately turned away.

She quietly clenched her fists.

"Ooh, Ichinose's boyfriend is here!"

"Yi Chen, I'm so jealous! How did you manage to start dating her first?"

Laughter rang out all around him~

Yi Chen looked at his classmates, utterly confused.

He nodded to everyone and returned to his seat.

Ayanokoji and Horikita glanced coldly at the boy who seemed to have nothing better to do.

Just then, Ike and Teruhiko came over to Yi Chen, showering him with praise and flattery.

Yi Chen soon learned what had happened.

Apparently, Ichinose was so popular, and the two of them had hugged for so long yesterday, that everyone had concluded they were dating.

The story had spread from one person to ten, then from ten to a hundred.

Now everyone knew.

Ike and Teruhiko wanted Yi Chen to teach them how to pick up girls, but class was starting, so their lesson had to wait.

Yi Chen arrived in class about twenty minutes early every day, no earlier and no later. There wasn't much point in getting to school too early, after all.

This high school was pretty relaxed. Classes were easy, and the school day ended early.

After the first class, Horikita came over and asked Yi Chen what had happened and why he was dating Ichinose from Class B.

Ayanokoji pretended to read, quietly listening in.

Yi Chen gave her a simple, straightforward answer:

"There's nothing to it. We like each other, so we started dating."

Horikita looked at him with disdain.

"That was awfully flippant. Whatever. If you don't want to talk about it, fine."

"But I hope you'll put our class first. Don't do anything that would betray it."

Yi Chen looked puzzled, his expression darkening.

"Do I look like someone who'd betray the class?"

Horikita realized from his expression that she'd said the wrong thing.

"...I just said it offhand."

Yi Chen looked at Horikita, displeased.

Horikita Suzune? One careless remark, and she says something that unpleasant. No wonder I ended up in Class D.

Whatever. I can't be bothered. Let people live with the consequences of their choices.

Classes ended before long. Afterward, Yi Chen checked his messages and saw that Ichinose had invited him to karaoke.

The two of them went to meet Ichinose outside Class B.

When the students in Class B saw Yi Chen and Ichinose acting so close, some screamed, some cheered, some looked envious, and others looked jealous.

The two of them headed to karaoke.

There was more than one karaoke place on campus, since Advanced Nurturing High School was so large.

They chatted happily for a while.

Before long, Yi Chen spotted Ibuki Mio in the distance, her face wrapped in bandages.

His expression changed.

Ichinose kept glancing at Yi Chen's face and noticed the change in his expression.

She followed his gaze and spotted Ibuki Mio, who was injured.

Ichinose took Yi Chen by the arm and walked over to Ibuki Mio.

Ibuki Mio saw them. One was Ichinose, a friend she knew; the other was Yi Chen, the person she'd had a dispute with just yesterday.

Ibuki Mio glanced up at Yi Chen, then fixed her eyes on the ground.

Ichinose noticed her expression.

Ichinose knew most of the people at school, and she was on good terms with Ibuki Mio, too.

She knew for certain that whether Ibuki Mio was nervous or lying,

her gaze never darted around like an ordinary person's.

Instead, she stayed unusually calm.

Ichinose knew something must have happened between them.

She kindly asked Ibuki Mio what had happened to her face.

Ibuki Mio answered expressionlessly:

"It's nothing."

Yi Chen looked at Ibuki Mio and thought it over.

Most likely, she failed to deal with me and Ryuen beat her up.

Ichinose looked at Yi Chen's cold expression, then at Ibuki Mio, who was clearly hurt.

She nudged Yi Chen in the side with her elbow.

Yi Chen looked at Ichinose and understood.

Yi Chen looked at Ibuki Mio.

"If you don't want to talk about it, fine. I hope you understand what you're doing."

At his words, Ibuki Mio walked away without another word.

Ichinose tried to stop her, but it was no use.

Ichinose asked Yi Chen what had happened between them.

Yi Chen simply told her it was a class dispute.

"Think about how Class C's leader is leading Class C."

Ichinose understood.

Curious, Ichinose asked:

"Who's the central figure in Class D?"

Yi Chen looked at Ichinose.

Ichinose seemed unsure of herself, but also a little expectant.

Yi Chen said:

"I don't know. Class D has fewer than 90 Class Points right now."

"What kind of class like that has a leader?"

Ichinose understood at once.

Yi Chen asked:

"Then are you the central figure in Class B, Ichinose?"

Ichinose looked at Yi Chen and answered without holding back:

"Everyone trusts me. I don't know about being a central figure or anything like that."

Yi Chen smiled at her answer.

He knew Ichinose wasn't lying to him. Is this what love feels like?

Yi Chen asked:

"Ichinose, how many points do you have left? You spend them everywhere with me."

At his question, Ichinose slowly opened her phone and showed him.

Three million!

Yi Chen was startled by the number of points.

Ichinose replied calmly:

"Everyone in my class trusts me, so I look after all their points for them."

Yi Chen looked at Ichinose and said nothing.

Then he suddenly remembered something and asked:

"Ichinose, are you this kind to everyone?"

Ichinose blinked.

"Huh? I guess I am. Everyone's a friend, right?"

Yi Chen replied coldly:

"Got it."

Ichinose realized he was upset.

She hurriedly said:

"Don't worry, Yi Chen. I'm different with you."

Yi Chen felt a little awkward at that and gave her a brief, perfunctory reply.

Yi Chen thought about himself.

I seem to treat everyone the same, too. In my eyes, they're all NPCs.

Dating? I'd dated before, but it hadn't even lasted three days.

I'd spent nearly all my life growing up in other people's homes.

Kindergarten: I stayed at my teacher's place and waited for my parents to pick me up after work.

Elementary school: I stayed at an old neighbor lady's home.

Middle school: I lived alone.

High school: I lived alone.

At first, feelings seemed very important. But little by little, they started to feel optional.

Eventually, I grew numb. But no one could stand being lonely forever.

After coming here, I wasn't really lonely. I had friends and classmates.

But once that loneliness was satisfied, people went back to how they used to be, back to having no feelings at all.

That's how I feel about Ichinose now, even though we've only been dating for a few days.

What have I done? What should I do? Can I really rush into a relationship like this?

What should I do next?

If I were the protagonist of a novel...

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka?

What would he do?

No, I'm Yi Chen. There's a huge difference between us.

Yi Chen broke off his thoughts and looked at Ichinose beside him.

I don't know. I'll take it one step at a time.

I was too lonely before, and my emotions were too intense. What about now?

They soon arrived at karaoke, where Yi Chen sang along without much feeling.

He didn't have a good time.

On the way back, the two of them spoke far less than usual.

After Yi Chen walked Ichinose back to her dorm,

he turned and left.

Tears immediately streamed down Ichinose's face.

When Yi Chen saw this, he panicked and felt terribly guilty.

At the entrance to the dorm, Ichinose broke down sobbing.

Ichinose choked out the words through her tears:

"Yi Chen, what's wrong?"

"Why have you been so cold today?"

"What did I do wrong? Tell me."

Seeing this, Yi Chen felt a little guilty.

But did I really think she was in the wrong?

I just don't feel like talking.

Can't we just keep each other company?

Apparently not.

Yi Chen tried to hug Ichinose, but she gently caught him by the wrist.

Ichinose choked out:

"Yi Chen, is it because I'm nice to everyone?"

"So you think I'm that kind of easy woman."

Yi Chen was silent.

"..."

Ichinose choked back tears:

"Say something."

A heart-wrenching pain welled up inside Yi Chen. He didn't know why, either.

Yi Chen spoke quietly:

"No. I think if you're nice to everyone, it just means you're kind."

Yi Chen took out a tissue and gently wiped away Ichinose's tears.

Ichinose didn't refuse.

Ichinose stepped forward and hugged Yi Chen.

She pressed herself tightly against his chest.

Buried against Yi Chen's chest, Ichinose whispered:

"You're lying. That's not what you really think, is it?"

"Just tell me whatever's on your mind. I'll change for you."

Hearing that, Yi Chen gave an awkward, wry smile and looked down at Ichinose against his chest.

He felt a little moved.

"Really? Then, from now on, could you be nice to me and only me?"

At that, Ichinose looked up at Yi Chen, her face flushed.

"Of course."

For some inexplicable reason, a lock inside Yi Chen loosened.

Watching Yi Chen's stunned expression, Ichinose rose onto her tiptoes.

Their lips gently brushed.

The soft, sweet sensation between their lips

made Yi Chen's mind explode.

His face flushed red, and he fumbled helplessly as his breathing quickened.

Ichinose only hugged Yi Chen tighter, afraid he would leave her just like that.

Their heavy breathing rang especially loudly in the quiet hallway.

Their hearts pounded as if they were about to burst.

Ichinose, pressed against his chest, quickly looked up at Yi Chen.

Yi Chen nearly lost consciousness, and Ichinose let go of him.

She gazed at Yi Chen, her face full of bashful affection.

Once she let go, Yi Chen's senses slowly returned.

The two gazed deeply into each other's eyes.

Yi Chen didn't know what to do.

Stiffly, Yi Chen raised his pinky toward Ichinose.

Ichinose understood at once, and they hooked their pinkies together.

Ichinose opened the dormitory door, went inside, and waved goodbye to Yi Chen.

Yi Chen stiffly walked away.

Leaning against the door, Ichinose listened to Yi Chen's footsteps recede.

Her heart raced wildly.

Ichinose touched her heart, feeling it beat.

Her face was already flushed red.